Playing in the Snow

Wednesday morning after Tuesday's ice/sleet/snow mess, it was still icy when I got up, so I took the bus in to work. I was hoping to get some marvelous ice-storm shots, but alas, the ice appeared to have been confined to the region outside of town where I live. In town, however, it was mostly just drizzly and drippy. Rats! Ice storm shots will have to wait till some other day.

But I did take a half-hour between buses to run around campus and see the sights. I visited a couple of key campus points, including the lion shrine and Old Main. The traditional Nittany Lion Inn Christmas gingerbread replica (usually displayed within the Inn itself) is not up yet, but I will keep watch for it. And of course I visited the duck pond, which was amazingly quiet, not a duck to be found.

In the nearby alumni center gardens, however, I found an enchanting sight. The gardens feature a statue by Glenna Goodacre of children playing,  called "Olympic Wannabes." When I visit the alumni center grounds, I think of it as the Court of the Stone Children. The five figures are shown with arms outstretched, ready to do cartwheels on the lawn. With the bit of snow and ice left on the ground around them, it looked like they were having a marvelous time playing in the snow!

Is there anyone who has more fun in winter than children? I think back to my own childhood, growing up in central Pennsyvlania, which featured wild sled rides and toboggan rides with my siblings and cousins, ice skating and games of hockey on a frozen pond, homemade ice cream made via old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream churn (using ice from the pond, of course), the igloo my dad built in our front yard one year when the snow piled higher and higher, and even times when we drizzled Karo corn syrup on dishes of fresh white snow and ate it just like that. And so I think no, there is nobody (except perhaps dogs) who enjoy playing in the snow more than kids!

The soundtrack to this image is a tune that I have always enjoyed. It's called Baby, It's Cold Outside. When I googled it this morning, I learned a few things I did not know before. The original score was written as a duet for two voices called simply "mouse" and "wolf." The mouse, traditionally played by a female voice, is trying to leave to go home. The wolf, usually played by a male voice, is trying to talk the mouse into staying. (Read more here.)

The song appeared first in the 1948 film Neptune's Daughter; interestingly enough, it is sung twice, first with a male performing the "wolf" role, and the second time with a female singing the "wolf" lines. Many people have covered it, but here are two performances I like: Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé, and Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart. Enjoy!